Making your own handmade soap at home is fun and easy but there are a few precautions of which you should be aware.
Two of the most common soaps to make at home are glycerin based soaps and cold process soaps.

    Glycerin based soaps are purchased in brick form, melted in the microwave and poured into molds. Goat's milk, honey, hemp, white and clear glycerin blocks are just a few of the soaps available. There are dozens and dozens of plastic soap molds out there, which generally have recesses to accommodate pouring 1-4 bars of soap at the same time. Fragrances and colorants can be added just before pouring. This is a great project to do in the kitchen with children, but do take care with the hot, melted soap when removing your container from the microwave and pouring soap into molds.

    Cold process soaps are made with base oils or tallow and lye. Because lye is a base, GREAT CARE must be taken! You must purchase spoons, ladles, measuring cups and other equipment you will need to use ONLY for making soap. Do not reuse any of these tools again for food preparation. You will also need a respirator for chemical use and protective gloves and glasses. Mixing lye with water is best done outside in full ventilation! Always add lye to water rather than water to lye. When lye is added to water a reaction takes place, which heats the mixture upwards to 250 degrees!

    It's best to use a recipe from a trustworthy source rather than mixing your own. If you are a chemist you might like to look up saponifiaton values in order to add the correct amount of lye to the correct combination of oils. The lye is cooled; the oils are heated and mixed together with a hand blender until the mixture thickens slightly. This is called a "trace". When scooped with a spoon and drizzled back into the pot, you will see a "trace" of the soap on the surface of the soap batch. When thoroughly mixed, your soap can be poured into molds. We use a large wooden box lined with plastic. It is then covered, wrapped in towels where it will insulate for 24-48 hours, and then released and cut. The cut bars then cure for 4 to 6 weeks and are ready for use. We always use PH strips to test a cured batch before use.

    There are many books on the market detailing recipes and methods for making both glycerin based and cold process soaps! With the right equipment and care you will have hours and hours of soap making fun!